City officials recently announced that all 250,000 streetlights in New York City will be replaced by energy efficient light-emitting diodes (LED) by 2017. However, one community leader in Woodhaven said she doesn’t want to wait that long.

“We started to push for this about six months ago because we noticed that the lights on our avenue needed to change,” said Maria Thomson, president of the Woodhaven Business Improvement District and executive director of the Greater Woodhaven Development Corporation. “I’d love to see the lighting replaced along our avenue.”

Thomson said Jamaica Avenue in Woodhaven should receive the LED lighting for security purposes.

“Everyone can fell safer and all of the doorways will be better lit,” she said.

The Department of Transportation has already begun upgrading lights in Brooklyn and portions of Central Park in Manhattan. However, Thomson said Queens should receive preferential treatment because there are many areas of the borough that are not well lit.

“We need it more than Manhattan does,” she said. “They need to start looking at commercial districts in the outer boroughs.”

A spokesperson for the DOT said, “The DOT has not received this petition but will review any request from the community.”